


twice what i'm worth

by thebeanunderthecorner



Series: ...and you get a songfic! [4]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: All TAZ characters are in Amnesty's setting pretty much, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Argo is a finger guns bi, Asexual Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Bets & Wagers, Bisexual Argo, Canon Asexual Character, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dentist rant, Dentists, Embarrassment, Fake Personailty, Feelings, First Kiss, Fitzroy doesn't like dentists, Gamer Fitzroy, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nonbinary Firbolg, Songfic, The Feeling You Get When - The Hoosiers, Wisdom Teeth, just humans, keeping up appearances - Freeform, no magic, they're in college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:29:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28971354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebeanunderthecorner/pseuds/thebeanunderthecorner
Summary: Fitzroy Maplecourt really doesn't want to get his wisdom teeth taken out, but they're growing in wrong, so he has to.Argonaut Keene has to pick him up.Firby has class.(Based on "The Feeling You Get When" by The Hoosiers)
Relationships: Argo Keene & Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Argo Keene/Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Master Firbolg & Argo Keene & Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt
Series: ...and you get a songfic! [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053647
Comments: 16
Kudos: 27





	1. dental care

Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, Knight in Absentia of the Realm of Goodcastle, or whatever his ridiculous online title was, did not like going to the dentist. He appreciated the fact that it was always clean and tidy, but, fingers in his mouth? No, thanks. Not for Fitzroy. And the x-ray room freaked him out. Sitting in a chair? Fine, okay, easy. Sitting in a chair with a weighted  _ thing  _ on his chest and biting down on the world's worst rectangle while they "took a picture" with their stupid x-ray camera arm? Nuh-uh. No way. Absolutely hated it. Not to mention the way they would try to talk with him with their fingers and tools examining his teeth, fully aware they weren't going to get a good answer. 

No. If Fitzroy didn't have to go to the dentist, he wouldn't. But, alas, he required that dreaded operation to remove his wisdom teeth, or seventeen-year-old molars, as his mother liked to call them. Apparently, growing one set of molars as a toddler wasn't enough, and he hated that. It was painful, having teeth trying to erupt out from under his gums, but all humans had to go through it at some point. Supposedly. 

He envied his roommate, Argo, whose wisdom teeth came in perfectly normal and just became another set of teeth. His were growing in four different directions, like they wanted to get out without a map. It was common, or so the dentist said, but he still felt like it was weird. Teeth were either supposed to grow up or grow down, not sideways! And they were certainly not supposed to crowd his other teeth, making a second set of braces necessary once the offending mouth bones were removed. 

That's it. Maybe Fitzroy just had bad mouth bones. Tumor pebbles or something that had to be removed or he'd die. Teeny tiny alien eggs trying to take over his mouth. Any explanation besides "my teeth are fricked up" would do. 

Fitzroy really wished he didn't have to go through this whole procedure to get them removed. But here he was, lying in the squeaky leather chair waiting to be sedated with his other roommate, Firby, by his side. 

"Okay, Fitzroy. Class is in half an hour, so I should go. Argo vill be picking you up vhen your teeth are all taken out," they said as the oral surgeon walked into the room. "I vish you the best." And then Fitzroy's last bit of hope left the room in the form of his very tall, very friend-shaped buddy and dread rushed in. 

Never mind that the dental professional who was operating on him that day was his uncle. Fear struck Fitzroy’s heart anyway as soon as he saw the scrubs. What was supposed to be a friendly face became sinister in Fitzroy’s eyes as the man opened and closed drawers behind him, scaring the college student out of his mind. Why did they have to be doing this on a school day? Why couldn’t they have scheduled it for, like, a day when both his roommates could be there with him? Like, say, a weekend. Or summer break. Just a day where everyone could be there so Fitzroy wouldn’t have to-

“Ow! What was that?” he spat.

“That’s the sedative we’re giving you today. You looked like you could use it,” the oral surgeon said.

“Yeah, but not in my arm!”

“I’m sorry, boyo.” Fitzroy winced. “But that’s how IV sedatives work. Now, just relax,” the man said as Fitzroy started to feel the effects of the anesthetic. Within minutes, he was passed out.


	2. driving

Argonaut Keene was a relatively patient man. He could wait in line at the grocery store behind people who had a million items and be fine. He could comb and braid Fitzroy’s hair until his friend was satisfied and not feel like destroying things. He could even help Firby with their accounting homework for hours without wanting to pull his hair out. But this! This traffic! It was driving him insane! How was he supposed to get from campus to the dentist in twenty minutes with so many cars on the street? Kepler, West Virginia, was a relatively small town, so why were there so many people out and about? He had to get there before Fitzroy’s operation was completed so he could be there when he woke up. Didn’t want his best friend to wake up alone and disoriented, and it couldn’t hurt to record his impaired rambles. For posterity, of course. Or blackmail.

Argo got to the dentist’s office with just a smidgeon of time left before Fitzroy’s operation was due to finish, so he waited patiently in the waiting room, texting Firby to let them know he’d arrived in time. He’d just finished reading a news article about scurvy in the modern age when he heard someone call for the guardian of a Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt and he knew it was his time to get up.

“Of course he’d use his silly title in a place like this,” he muttered amusedly, almost affectionately, under his breath as he stood and followed the dental assistant through the labyrinthine halls. He started explaining post-wisdom tooth removal care instructions to Argo as they walked.

“He’s going to be a bit disoriented for a while, so don’t let him out of your sight until he’s all cleared up and cognizant of what he’s doing. He needs soft foods, preferably liquids, for the first few days, but no straws. The suction will rip out the stitches. Now-” Argo cut him off before he could get any further.

“Could ya just give me the info in a pamphlet or somethin’? It’s quite a lot to remember.”

“O-okay then… Here he is,” the dental assistant said, leading Argo into a sterile-smelling room. He hated places like these. It reminded him too much of the hospital in which his mother spent the last month of her life. 

Her accident didn’t seem so much like an accident whenever Argo thought about it in detail. And her death wasn’t entirely natural either, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It’d been years. Any evidence collected at the scene would have been thrown out, he was sure of it. 

But he couldn’t dwell on that now. He had to get Fitzroy home so he could recover. He shook his head to rid himself of the negative thoughts and took a deep breath. Just as he stepped in, the figure in the chair turned his head. 

“Argo!” a drugged up Fitzroy said, trying to smile. “Ar-go-naut!” He sounded out his name like he was coming to a realization about something. Then he chuckled a bit. “That’s a funny name. Ar-go-naut Keeeeeene.” 

Argo had no idea his heart could beat that fast, but it did. “You’re one to talk, Sir FItzRoY MaPleCoUrT” he chuckled. “C’mon, let’s get you out of here.” He reached out his hand and Fitzroy took it, standing on shaky legs.


	3. thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where the song comes in, y'all. Also, feelings.

“My uncle stabbed me!” Fitzroy exclaimed as they walked out to the car. 

“Oh, really now?”

“Yes! It hurt, then I fell asleep and he took my mouth bones! He took them! My mouth bones are gone and I can’t get them back, Argo!” Argo couldn’t keep himself from laughing at his friend’s ‘plight.’ Fitzroy continued. “I couldn’t stop him, Argo. He… Took them. No Candlenights present for Uncle Ted, then. He’s mean.”

“Okay. How about we get in the car and go home? I’ve already got your door open for you, Fitz.” He helped him into the car and buckled his seatbelt for him before getting into the driver’s seat.

“Oh! A perfect gentleman you are, Argo.” The other man could feel heat rising to his cheeks as he drove through town. “You’re perfect, absolutel- Hey! That mountain isn’t supposed to be there! Go away, mountain! Shoo!” He pointed weakly out the window, trying to intimidate a giant pile of rocks and soil. Mount Kepler had done nothing to Fitzroy, as far as Argo knew, so his rage at the mountain was certainly unjustified. “Move or I’ll fucking move you myself!” 

Argo gasped and turned to look at him for just a second. “Fitz! You swore!” He saw his friend’s eyes go wide.

“That’s right! I cuss now!” he slurred. “I’m cool now.”

“You’ve always been cool, at least to me,” Argo admitted, pretty sure his friend and roommate wouldn’t remember this conversation. Therefore, he felt confident in letting this one wall down. “You try to keep up appearances, but you never had anything to prove, my friend.” He was sure Fitzroy would react, but he was busy staring at something out the window.

“Argo, do birds exist?” he whispered. And then he suddenly seemed to forget that line of thought and started humming.

“That’s a nice song, Fitz,” Argo commented. “What’s it from?”

The humming continued.

And, apparently, so did the traffic.

“Looks like we’re never getting home, friend Fitzroy.”

“Hm,” his passenger affirmed. “You sent the sun round the Earth,” he sang lightly, slightly jumbled. “Make me feel twice what I’m worth.” He continued singing that for a few minutes, sometimes looking over at Argo, who was fighting hard to not let a blush consume his entire body.

“Th-that’s nice, buddy,” he remarked, not taking his eyes off the road in fear that they would betray him and show exactly how Fitzroy’s singing was affecting him. 

Argo had fought so long to control his image. He’d sleep around with just about anyone, not caring how they saw him as long as they never saw each other again. He’d get high with the school stoners, unafraid of expulsion or any other punishment so long as the drugs did the trick. He’d drink like a sailor with the best and worst of them at the skeeziest bars, the dangerous ones, for fun, and for the most part, his bad boy/playboy persona worked. People avoided him because of his reputation. People were afraid of him. People didn't want to get close to him, and he thought he was okay with that, but then he got to Kepler Community College and had roommates who didn't care about his reputation. They just cared about him. 

Argo wasn't used to that. He was used to people taking what they wanted and leaving him behind. Not many people stuck with him long enough to get to know him. Nor for him to get to know them. And they certainly didn't stick around long enough for him to fall for them. 

Yet here he was, nursing a crush on Fitzroy Maplecourt, his ridiculous best friend and roommate, and he absolutely knew that his affection was not returned. He would have said something by now if it had been, but alas, nothing had been said, so he did nothing but let that crush fester inside him like a tumor just waiting to kill him. Love died when his mother did, so how was he supposed to be able to love someone when there was no one to show him how?

Argo thought about this, this inability to form attachments, quite often. It was a source of discomfort for him. He knew what he was doing was harmful, all the smoking and drinking and sleeping around, but he couldn’t help but feel like he needed it to survive. He knew his roommates were worried about him, but it was hard to stop. So he was seeing a counselor on campus for it, which seemed to be helping, considering his budding attachment to his roommates like they were his best friends. 

Hell, they probably were his best friends. No. No "probablies" about it, he decided. They were his best friends. Point blank. Best friends. And Fitzroy was doing something to him that seemed like it was going to be Argo's undoing. 

Argo listened to Fitzroy's increasingly off-key singing and drew in a shaky breath. The weight of his realizations was a bit much more than he could handle and he silently cursed Ned Chicane and his Cryptonomica business for bringing more visitors to Kepler. 

"Shit! I just wanna get home!" he shouted, completely forgetting that his phone was still taking video from its resting spot on the dashboard. Then he spotted the brand new Wendy's that just opened up a bit further down the road. "Hey, Fitz, want a frosty?" he asked. 

He turned his head just slightly to catch the response. Fitzroy's eyes lit up. "Yesss," he hissed. Argo pulled into the Wendy's drive thru lane and ordered three frosties. One for Fitzroy, one for himself, and one for Firby. 

"Pssst! Argo! Can I get a straw?" 

"No, Fitz. No straws."

"But I don't want a spoon!" his passenger whined. 

"Doc said no straws, so I say no straws," Argo said firmly. He turned back to the order speaker. "Can we just get spoons? We don't need straws." 

"Sir, they don't come with straws," came the tinny voice from the speaker. 

"Thanks," Argo said, relieved. No struggling to keep one from Fitzroy was to be had. "I'm sorry, friend Fitzroy, but they don't have any straws."

"None straws?" the still very drugged up Fitzroy asked, disheartened. 

"Nope! None straws," Argo lied, feigning concern. 

"But… they have soda," Fitzroy complained. 

"They're going strawless to save the environment. You just gotta lap at it like a dog." Argo snickered, finding messing with his best friend to be too good to pass up. 

"Messy," Fitzroy mused. "So messy."

Argo drove up to the window, paid, and collected their frosties. 

"Okay, _now_ we're going home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm drawing from real life experience with others here so I'm not sure exactly how accurate/plausible this is, but I like it and that's all that matters. I just hope you like it, too.
> 
> I have also just jumped onto the sea shanty train, late to the trend as always, and I love the idea of Argo singing sea shanties under his breath as he does chores because his mom would sing them to him as a kid. So that's an idea to explore at a later date. 
> 
> And, hey. Life may be scary, but at least we can pretend like everything that happened last year isn't following us into this one.
> 
> <3 ya!


	4. cooking

Taking care of Fitzroy Maplecourt was a feat neither Argo nor Firby was prepared to handle. Sure, they liked him enough to skip class and follow the doctor’s care instructions, but they’d forgotten how insufferable he was when sick. But this was worse than sick, because they couldn’t just leave him alone to let him sleep. They had to make sure he consumed his food, mainly Jell-O and gravy, and took his pain medication. And they used every pack of frozen vegetables they could find as an ice pack to wrap around their friend’s face as he played video games on the TV.

A week of this and his roommates were beginning to get tired of it.

“At dees rate, ve vill be having flavored gelatin and frozen wegetables for de rest of our days,” Firby complained as he and Argo did the dishes one night. Argo didn’t mind, because at least Fitzroy was healing up and he could go back to class next week. 

“We’ll deal with it, friend Firby. At least he’ll actually be able to do the dishes once it’s over. Love the guy, but dishes are his thing, not mine.” 

“Dat is true.”

…

Argo got home from class one day, about two weeks after Fitzroy's operation, to a sleeping Fitzroy on the couch, still holding his game controller as the game music still played on. He smiled fondly and gently pried the controller from his roommate's hand, turning the game off with a few clicks of a button. 

"Oh, Fitz. What am I gonna do with ya?" he muttered under his breath. He continued tidying up, and shivered as the air conditioning came on. "Don't want ya to get cold," he said as he pulled a blanket off the arm of the couch to lay on Fitzroy. 

He went back to tidying up for a bit before the sleeping man woke up. 

… 

Fitzroy awoke to the sound of food sizzling in a pan and someone singing a familiar tune. 

"Argo?" he asked, getting up from the couch to walk into their tiny kitchen. 

Argo turned around, looking guilty at being caught singing.

"Fitz! You're awake! How are ya?" he asked, turning back to his cooking. 

"What were you singing, Argo?"

"Oh, that? It's nothing," came a reply as Argo continued stirring the stuff in the pan. "Just something I heard a couple weeks ago." 

"Oh really?" Fitzroy countered. "Mind showing me how it goes?" 

Argo was glad he wasn't facing his friend. The blush creeping up his cheeks would have made a terrible mess of things if it was seen. 

"I'm not so sure, Fitz. I'm not the most confident in my singing abilities." 

"Oh, come on!" his friend whined. "Just a verse?" 

Argo could hear the begging in his voice. 

"Okay, fine." He cleared his throat and began, a bit shakily. "You sent the sun round the Earth. Made me feel twice what I'm worth." 

Fitzroy gasped. 

"You know that one, too?" he asked incredulously. "How?" 

Argo turned the stove off and moved the pan. He pivoted so he could see Fitzroy, who was leaning against the doorway. 

"You," he answered. "You started singing it as I was taking you home from the dentist." Fitzroy noticed he'd dropped his accent. "It's been stuck in my head ever since." His eyes were full of an emotion the other man couldn't quite parse. 

"It's a good song," Fitzroy said, feigning nonchalance while his heart was beating out of his chest. "You should check out the album. I have it if you'd like to borrow it." 

"Oh really? Okay," said Argo, trying in vain to control his excitement. "No one's ever let me borrow a CD before. Well, no one's offered."

"No one? Well, I'm offering now, so you can't say that anymore, my friend." 

"Thanks, Fitz." Argo stepped closer, just slightly, about to clap a hand on his shoulder, but Fitzroy was already leaving to find the CD. So he returned to the stove to finish cooking dinner, humming to himself all the while. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I so want to rush everything and just have them get together, but where's the fun in that?
> 
> Ya'know, kudos and comments make my day! Wouldn't mind it if ya left any, at your discretion, of course. 
> 
> And, hey! Make sure you get enough sleep tonight! It's important!


	5. dancing

Fitzroy Maplecourt would love to stream his video games on Twitch or YouTube, but being in the national radio quiet zone kind of squashed that hope. Their dorm had Ethernet though, so he could at least download things, and he started a channel to post his gameplay recordings once he actually got the chance to record. But since he only played on the TV in the common room, it was kind of difficult.

Especially when his roommate was blasting music all the time from his room. Sure, it was the album he'd let Argo borrow, but did he have to play it all the time? 

"Argo! Could you please turn it down? I'm trying to game!" Fitzroy shouted from the couch. 

No response. 

_'Maybe he can't hear me,'_ Fitzroy thought. 

He got up and walked over to Argo and Firby's shared room, knocking on the door. The music was louder at this point, so Fitzroy doubted Argo heard the knock. 

"ARGO! TURN IT DOWN!" 

Again, no response.

So he tried the door. It was unlocked. 

Fitzroy opened the door to a sleeping Argo, looking peaceful, and, dare he say… adorable?, at his desk. Papers were everywhere and there was a pencil still in Argo's hand as he lay asleep on top of a textbook. 

Fitzroy stepped in, walking up to the desk, right as a sad guitar melody faded away. He reached out and shook his friend awake. The song changed and after a few seconds, a wistful piano melody, simple and sweet, broke into the silence. 

"Argo? Wake up," he said, nearly sing-songy. 

The man in front of him jolted awake at his touch. "Oh, hey, Fitz!" he said, relaxing as he noticed who had woken him, still a little out of it. He recognized the music and thought it couldn't be real. "Is this a dream?" he asked. 

Surely, Fitzroy standing over him while the most romantic song he's ever heard played was a thing Argo would never have thought was actually happening. He smiled softly. 

"Whatcha here for, my friend?" 

Fitzroy was also surprised by the music. He fought hard to control his expression, trying not to show that he had feelings about both the person he just woke and the song they were hearing. 

"I was going to ask you to turn off your music, but I guess it's okay, since you were sleeping and all."

"No, no, I can do that, Fitz," Argo said, reaching for his CD player. Fitzroy stopped his hand before he could touch the device. "What-" 

Fitzroy, feeling brave, pulled Argo up and out of his chair. "Dance with me, Argo. Restart the song and dance with me," he pleaded. Argo looked puzzled, so he added, "Please." 

"O-okay," Argo said, reaching down to bring the song back to its beginning. Fitzroy’s other hand brought Argo’s to his bicep, bringing his own hand to Argo’s waist as he held the other man’s right hand in his left. “Uhhh, Fitz?”

“Just sway and spin with me, Argo. Listen to the music.”

It was at this point that Fitzroy was glad Argo kept the room clean, so they wouldn’t trip over anything as he led his friend - crush- no, friend- in a waltz, a bit more complicated than “spin and sway,” but Argo was quick to catch on.

Halfway through the song, Fitzroy switched from waltzing to just swaying with Argo. Hands changed positions and suddenly Argo’s arms were around Fitzroy’s neck while the other’s hands were on his waist, drawing him gradually closer until they were merely inches apart. 

Argo looked up at Fitzroy, blushing as he realized his friend was already looking at him.

“Fitzroy,” he breathed, inching ever closer.

“You sent the sun round the Earth,” Fitzroy sang, barely a whisper. His hand went up to hold Argo’s cheek. The other man leaned into it. 

“Made me feel twice what I’m worth,” Argo finished, nearly closing the gap between them. He leaned his face up towards Fitzroy as the other leaned down and-

“Fitzroy? Argo?” came a call from the living room, making the two dancing men jump apart at the sound of their other roommate’s voice.

Fitzroy’s hand flew to his neck, blushing intensely. “So… I should go finish that level… In my game…” he said awkwardly.

“Yep, yep, I should finish studying for that test,” Argo hastily replied. He shot a quick finger guns motion towards his friend before pivoting on his heel and getting back to his desk. Fitzroy scuttled out of the room and nearly ran into Firby.

“Ah! Bud! Funny you’re here!”

“Vhy vould dat be funny? I live here vith you,” the giant wall of friend said matter-of-factly. “Vhy vere you in our room? You have your own room.”

Fitzroy stumbled for an answer and was glad when Argo shouted “He came to answer a question I had about the homework!”

“Aaah. A good friend you are, Fitzroy Applejack.”

"MAPLECOURT! It's Fitzroy Maplecourt!" the aforementioned young man corrected. "If you're going to use my name, do it properly!" 

"Whatever ya say, Flapjack Mapleclan!" Argo yelled out the door to his room. 

"UGH!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know. I'm evil. But bear with me for a minute. It's gonna be so much better when it finally does come to fruition.
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated, y'all! 
> 
> And, hey! Is it your birthday? No? Are you sure? Oh well


	6. watching

Weeks went by with no mention of the dancing-in-the-bedroom incident, just a lot of awkward little moments of hesitation, which Argo was simultaneously relieved and pained about. The relief came from knowing Fitzroy's stubbornness would make him keep it a secret forever. The pain came from feeling that was his one and only chance to get his feelings toward his roommate out of his chest. 

Until… 

"Fitzroy! Argo! Bud! I'm back!" came the sing-song voice of their friend Rainer, who was gently opening their front door. 

"Hey! How was the trip?" Fitzroy asked, peeking out from the kitchen. 

"It was good! Got a lot of time to spend with my cousin, you know, in between the research and everything. Smart kid. Runs his own detective agency and he's only sixteen!" she replied. "How was your 'Mouth Bone Removal,' Fitzroy?" 

Argo entered the room, closing the door behind his friend, careful of her wheelchair and service dog. 

"It went splendidly, friend Rainer!" said Argo with a twinkle in his eye. "Wanna see the video?" 

"YOU TOOK VIDEO?" Rainer and Fitzroy said at the exact same time, but for wildly different reasons. 

"Show me!" said one. 

"Delete it!" said the other. 

Argo could only do what was right and let everyone watch it, and then delete it. It was already saved to his computer anyway. Might as well let them believe that was the only copy. 

"Okay, Fitz, how'd'you share stuff to the TV? The video's on my phone and I don't know how to get it to work on the TV." 

Fitzroy sighed, but a few minutes later it was all set up and ready to go. Argo hit 'play' and ran to sit down on the couch, noticing the presence of their third roommate holding a big bowl of popcorn. 

"Et tu, Firby? Et tu?" Fitzroy asked, pretending to be wounded. 

"I have not seen dis before. I vant to vatch it vith you guys," Firby said. 

The video booted up and began to play. 

"He… Took them!" video Fitzroy said, and everyone laughed. 

Video Fitzroy yelled at the mountain and the Fitzroy on the couch put his head in his hands. Argo knew what was coming next and groaned. 

Everyone saw and heard Argo's moment of emotional vulnerability and he could just tell they were judging him. 

"Aw, Argo. That's so sweet," Rainer said. 

The video continued and now everyone could see why they hadn't watched it sooner. The phone had been set up to record pretty much the whole front seat of the car, including the driver, and they could see, plain as day, the color rising to and staying in Argo's face as Fitzroy absent-mindedly sang. 

"Oh, Argo. You have, ah, vhat is it called? 'Got it bad'?" Firby said, looking to Rainer for approval. She gave them a thumbs up. 

"Shut up," Argo said weakly, blushing almost as deep as he was in the video. He only had to suffer through a few more minutes of this self-imposed Hell and then he could leave. He could walk out and leave everyone behind. It wasn't hard. Not like he hadn't done it before. But he hadn't cared about those he left as much as he cared about his current friends, so it was going to be painful. Yet, he could do it, all the same. He could just hitchhike to the next county and start over. Yeah, that would work.

Argo waited out the next few minutes until the recording ended and he could grab his phone. He jumped up as soon as it was over and headed to the TV to disconnect his device, and someone laughed. 

"Well, that was a revelatory experience, wouldn't you say, Bud?" Rainer asked, partially teasing. 

"One could say dat," they responded. 

Argo couldn't stand the idea of being made known, nor the idea of being teased, so he slunk off to his room to hide. Well, as well as one can hide when the room is shared.

It must have been hours before anyone went to check on Argo, but it could have been merely minutes. Time meant nothing anymore to Argo, who was curled up in every blanket he'd ever owned, huddled in the corner of his bed. His eyes were red with the exertion of crying, body wrecked by his emotions. He prayed to every god he knew of that no one would see him like this. 

And then he was startled by a knock at the door, and by the voice accompanying it. 

"Argo? Are you okay?" 

"Go away, Fitzroy," he answered, sniffling. 

The door cracked open, and Fitzroy peeked his head in. 

"Seriously, Argo. What's going on?," he asked again just before a pillow nearly connected with his face. 

"I said go away!" Argo sounded utterly distraught. 

Fitzroy looked over at his friend, actually seeing him in the pile of blankets and pillows, and opened the door wider to walk in. 

"Not until I get a real answer, Argo." He stepped closer to the bed and the pile of blankets shrunk a little. 

"It was embarrassin'. They laughed at me," the voice of the blanket pile said. At this point, Fitzroy was standing in front of the bed, and Argo couldn't not look at him and his sad- no, pitying- face. 

Fitzroy could feel the shame and sadness radiating from the bed and he felt like it was partly his fault. 

"I also got laughed at. But it's just a video. No one has to see it ever again, if you want," Fitzroy said, trying to fix a situation he wasn't sure how to cure. "And besides, that was, like, two whole months ago. A couple more months and we'll forget it even happened." 

"You don't get it! You were high as fuck! I was just an idiot! An idiot pining over his fucking best friend with whom he has NO fucking chance and it's all on VIDEO! Can you see how fucking goddamned embarrassing that is?!" he half-screamed, half-cried. 

After what felt like a whole minute of Fitzroy looking absolutely shocked at him, he said, "You don't see it, do you?" and shrunk deeper into his blankets. He pulled a pillow over his head and tried to forget that his roommate, the guy he'd totally just messed things up with, was even there. He then realized that he pretty much confessed his feelings and felt worse.

Fitzroy reached a hand out, leaning over the bed. "Argo, I-" 

The pillow fell from the top of the pile, exposing Argo's head. 

"You know what? I can't do this anymore," he said from the blanket pile. 

"Can't do what, Argo? Because I'm trying to help you here and I can't if you don't tell me what's wrong. I just want you to not be… like this anymore," the taller man said, gesturing to the nest of blankets that was Argo. "Please. I just want to help." 

Argo took a deep breath and continued his thought. "I can't… I can't keep pretending I'm not in love with you," he admitted, looking defeated. A weight lifted from his chest as a different weight bowed the mattress. Argo looked up and was surprised to see Fitzroy, the most frustrating, most annoying, most beautiful person in the world, sitting across from him on the bed. 

"We never talked about the time we danced in here, did we?" Argo shook his head. "Argo, I genuinely wanted you in my arms that afternoon," Fitzroy explained. "I wish every day that we hadn't been interrupted, because I really would have liked to kiss you right then, and we've been awkwardly dancing around each other the last few weeks like it didn't happen."

"You…can do it now…" Argo whispered with wide eyes, quite surprised that his affection was returned. He started shifting in his blanket nest to sit up better. 

"What?" Fitzroy asked. 

"I said that if you wanted to kiss me then, you can do it now," Argo answered clearly, bolder than before, not noticing how close Fitzroy had gotten in that time. 

"Okay," said the young man across from- now nearly on top of- him. He leaned in towards Argo, meeting him halfway, and kissed him. 

Softly. 

Sweetly. 

Carefully. 

As if Argonaut Keene was something to be treasured. 

In all his years of being with people, in any sense of the word, he never felt like he belonged more than in that moment when Fitzroy's lips were on his. 

The two parted and looked at each other, amazed. Then they went in for another kiss, this one still just as sweet as the last, but not as soft nor as careful. 

Fitzroy pulled away reluctantly and Argo looked at him, amazed, while he caught his breath. 

"But, Fitz, if you're-" 

"I can still be asexual and want to kiss the most perfect man I've ever met," Fitzroy explained, unapologetic, once he figured out what Argo was going to say. "I can still be ace and want to kiss him again and again and again," he said, punctuating it with kisses all over Argo's face. 

"Fitz, stop it!," Argo giggled, squirming in his disheveled blanket mess. Fitzroy let go of his face. 

"Then may I join the most perfect man I've ever met in his blanket nest?" he asked. 

"Hmm… I don't know…" Argo joked, pretending to be thinking seriously. "Maybe I'll let you in, at the cost of a couple more kisses," he teased, knowing full well he would have let him in without the 'payment' anyway. Fitzroy made his way into the mess of blankets, happy as a clam next to Argo. 

… 

In the living room, Firby, Rainer, and her dog were shocked, having seen the whole ordeal. 

"Do dey know de door is not closed?" Firby asked. 

"Probably not, my friend," Rainer replied. "By the way, you owe me five bucks." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me on this! 'Twas a wild ride, but we love it anyway, right?
> 
> This chapter also incorporated another prompt ("I can't do this anymore!") and that was my last fluffy Maplekeene prompt. Now all my planned Maplekeene fics are just pure angst and I am sorry. Not sorry.
> 
> And, hey. Thanks!


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